Raw: EPO 'Democracy' With No Separation of Powers and No Access to Justice
- Dr. Roy Schestowitz
- 2017-12-28 09:26:45 UTC
- Modified: 2017-12-28 09:26:45 UTC
Summary: While the EPO's autocrat attempted to frame the European Patent Office (EPO) as a "social democracy" in reality the Office was the exact opposite of it, explains the staff committee (CSC)
Working Group "Social Democracy"
Dear Mr Battistelli,
As indicated by the CSC delegation in the meeting with you on 20 November, we would like to reiterate our position with respect to the Working Group "Social Democracy" and express the following reservations concerning our participation.
As a preliminary remark, we remain of the opinion that it is not the right time to start discussions on reforms of the staff representation when we are in the middle of an intense social conflict, the causes of which are in no way related to the Staff Committee structure. Additionally, we see no need for haste in the view of the recent elections in Munich and Berlin which are valid for the next two years.
Further, Staff would appreciate not to be confronted with a further reform which will be perceived as ill-conceived1 and hastily introduced. In the light of the Office poor track record over the last years, we consider that the extremely tight time constraint you propose (end of discussions before February 2014) is over-ambitious and cannot guarantee proper discussion of such a complex matter under suitable conditions.
Beside the above issues of timing and timeframe, the CSC has fundamental concerns about the scope of the matter to be addressed in the working group. So far, you seem to consider that "Social Democracy" is limited to reforming the structure, modus operandi and the election rules of the functioning Staff Committee institution2.
The CSC disagrees with such over-restrictive understanding. In our view the mandate should be put into conformity with the key principles of "Social
_______
1 as symptom please see the large number of appeals regarding Circ.347 or the "Well-being" policy
2 see Communiqué 35
Democracy"3 and must contain at least the following elements which are pillars of any democratic system:
- Separation of powers
- Access to justice (repair of the EPO appeal system)
- Fundamental rights (Investigation Guidelines, freedom of speech and communication, right to strike, disciplinary threats or measures on staff and their representatives, access to information)
At the moment none of above points is addressed in a satisfactory manner. Under these circumstances the CSC considers that a meeting with you should be dedicated to defining both the scope, i.e. mandate, and time-line, of a future discussion in a dedicated working group. This first step would also contribute to restore an atmosphere of mutual trust between management and staff.
Yours sincerely,
[omitted]
_______
3 "is defined as a policy regime involving a universal welfare state and collective bargaining schemes" promoting "stakeholders sufficient rights of co-determination" - Wikipedia
Recent Techrights' Posts
- [Meme] Being Believed, Not Censored or Defamed
- Daniel Pocock, Zini, and John Sullivan (FSF)
- Taking Things Up a Notch
- we strive/aim towards 15-25 new pages per day, i.e. around 500 per month or 6,000 per year
- Microsoft Layoffs and Closures Now Reported in Africa
- Microsoft Uninstalls Nigeria as it closes African Development Centre (ADC) in Lagos
-
- Microsoft Fired Loads of Staff in Kenya, Which is Another Large Country Where GNU/Linux Has Grown a Lot
- Microsoft pays Kenyans only 2 dollars an hour for an IT/office job
- Knowing the True History of Debian, Owing to Irish Debian Developer Daniel Pocock (Currently Running to Become Member of the European Parliament)
- Irish-Australian and scapegoat of a highly dysfunctional 'Debian family'
- Attacking by Credentials
- Modest people do not demand fancy titles
- Microsoft Windows Used to Have 99% of the OS Market in Jordan, Now It's Just 13% (Less Than iOS)
- Based on the data of statCounter, GNU/Linux in Jordan climbed from 0.62% in May 2014 to nearly 5% right now
- More Nations Are Reaching and Exceeding 5% Market Share for GNU/Linux, Microsoft Wants to be Bailed Out Again
- Microsoft is once again reaching out to Biden for a bailout - a subject we'll cover in a video some time this weekend
- Over at Tux Machines...
- GNU/Linux news for the past day
- IRC Proceedings: Friday, May 10, 2024
- IRC logs for Friday, May 10, 2024
- [Meme] What Do You Call a Woman Who Does BDS on Free Software? Elana Hamasman.
- Here are some confused thoughts
- [Meme] Mission Aborted
- Mission Aborted: cancel RMS
- Gemini Links 10/05/2024: Love Is Infinite and Books vs Internet
- Links for the day
- Links 10/05/2024: Fears Over TSMC, Microsoft Loses Major Patent Case
- Links for the day
- Links 10/05/2024: Burner Phones in 6-Eyes Government, “Hatred and Demonization” on the Rise
- Links for the day
- [Video] Richard Stallman, "I Saw You Playing Your Recorder in Paris" (Due to Proprietary Software Only)
- Corporate autocrats do not want counterparts or alternatives to even exist
- Five Years After the Extensive Campaign of Defamation Against Richard Stallman He's Still Giving Public Talks
- "Richard Stallman will give a talk, in French, Free Software and Freedom in a Digital Society at Centrale Supelec in Saclay, on May 15."
- Microsoft Is Rebranding Its 'Chatbot' Search for the Third Time Because It Fails to Gain Adoption
- it always means that something has failed - not that they'll openly admit it
- Richard Stallman Gives a Talk in Paris Next Week (in French) and It's About Freedom
- another talk, which he has only just announced
- Pace Up, Distractions Down
- We've made our curation process faster and more efficient
- In Algeria, GNU/Linux Estimated to Have Grown Tenfold in a Decade
- a sharp rise in GNU/Linux usage
- [Meme] Red Hat Diversity
- Red Hat: don't mention Haghighi
- Our Sister Site Turns 20 in Exactly One Month
- twentieth anniversary of the site
- Corporate Media Focuses on Who's Suing Red Hat, Not What It's Sued For
- The unfortunate thing is, anybody who has an opinion on this lawsuit will inevitably be framed as "pro-Trump" or "anti-Trump"
- Links 10/05/2024: Many More Microsoft Layoffs on the Way
- Links for the day
- Over at Tux Machines...
- GNU/Linux news for the past day
- IRC Proceedings: Thursday, May 09, 2024
- IRC logs for Thursday, May 09, 2024
- Microsoft OSI Uses Its Money to Hire PR Agencies That Spy and Spread Mindless Openwashing of GPL-Violating Microsoft Ploy
- `We're under attack. But the attackers smile at us and hire PR firms to spy, mislead etc.
- Gemini Links 10/05/2024: geminispace.info to Shut Down in 3 Weeks
- Links for the day
- In Nigeria, Africa's (by Far) Largest Population, Microsoft Bing is the 0%
- To Microsoft, Africa is just "someplace" to get intensive, hard-working human 'resources' (tech labour) at 2 dollars 'apiece' as in per person per hour
- Links 09/05/2024: Journalists in Detention, China Banning Songs or Anthems
- Links for the day
- Support for harassment and abuse victims
- Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
- Gemini Links 09/05/2024: Being Sick Enough and End of “World of Ends“
- Links for the day
- Links 09/05/2024: 'Hey Hi' (AI) Bubble Implodes Some More, Microsoft Layoffs So Widespread It's Hard to Keep Track
- Links for the day
- Speaking of Enshittification and Freedom, We've Still Not Begun Tackling the UEFI 'Secure' Boot Mess (Preventing GNU/Linux From Even Booting!)
- Microsoft continues to fly under the radar and commit competition crimes with impunity
- Microsoft Has Just Confirmed Mass Layoffs in Nigeria, It Now Adds Insult to Injury With Price Hikes for Locals
- It's not like Microsoft paid them good salaries
- Software Enshittification or Freedom? It's not a hard choice!
- Reprinted from Alexandre Oliva
- Links 09/05/2024: More Microsoft Layoffs on the Way
- Links for the day
- Amid Microsoft Layoffs in Nigeria GNU/Linux Climbs Above 6% Market Share (Not Including ChromeOS)
- Hundreds are being laid off by Microsoft in Nigeria, based on yesterday's reports
- [Meme] Blame the Robots or the 'Hey Hi' (AI), It Always Works in Today's Media
- Companies do not have financial troubles! They have "efficiencies"...
- News Reports Say Many More Microsoft Layoffs on the Way, Rumours Say Red Hat Also Imminently a Target
- Microsoft is slipping out of control
- Links 09/05/2024: Diplomacy Efforts With China, AstraZeneca Stops Experimenting With COVID-19 Vaccines
- Links for the day
- Over at Tux Machines...
- GNU/Linux news for the past day
- IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, May 08, 2024
- IRC logs for Wednesday, May 08, 2024
- Gemini Links 09/05/2024: Registered Computer Professionals and TLS (The Long Slog)
- Links for the day